bureau13

OK, I am now to the "stuff it all in and close up the dash" phase of my install. Yikes. The mass of extraneous wires is bad enough, but I finally got them pushed out of the way. The problem now is that damned Axxess box...I can't get it out of the way. With all the various things it has to connect to, I can't push it back in the area right under the HU (double-DIN) and the area behind the ash tray doesn't have enough space...I can't fit the ash tray in on top of it. Where did you all stuff this thing, and how? I think I remember someone saying Metra had extension wires of some sort...is this confirmed? Does anyone have them? How can we get them?

Thanks,
jds

rollerbldes

Push them to the right.

Extension wires? Where? I want one! or two..

raphy3

bureau are you sure you cut away enough of the plastic subdash? I had some stuffing problems; even after I cut away a significant portion of the subdash it is still an insanely tight fit. It's sort of like the push everything in and then sit on the suitcase to close it kind of fit. If we had extension wires I could use some of that void back behind my ash tray. All that's back there now is my pac-swi and a ton of wires.

bureau13

Well, I cut enough so that the faceplate mounts and the HU itself fit without any hassle...I wonder if I would get more room by cutting more...I will have to take a look.

jds

Rx8-13b

hey guys anybody haf the same problem i do? i haf the pack swi for pioneer units ( avhp4000) the steering functions work fine for like the first 20 minutes of every drive then after it just screws up anybody experiencing the same problem?

J_Owens

yes extensions are confirmed, i have a pair =) read my post about them on the previous page

rollerbldes

Mmm.. very nice. We'll have to bug metra to send them out. Otherwise I don't need them so much that I would pay for them.

Yes I have a similar problem. I think the trick is you need to program the SWI while your engine is running. My theory is that the alternator causes a slightly different resistance to the overall electrical system. So if you programmed the SWI while your car was only on accessory power, it might have a problem with the different resistance.

Rx8-13b

hmm....cuz i got it done at a audio shop, and i've had 3 pack swi boxes switched out already and it's all the same problem, but come to think of it, they programmed it while the car was off...mayb that is the problem, i will confirm with u once i get to the shop again, thanks again for the help

kanjas

Since AutoToys has still not sent me my missing Axxess box, and Metra won't do anything about it, I thought someone said I could remove the circuit board on the stock radio in order to keep my LCD/HVAC Controls somehow. I have the wires and dash kit from the Metra kit so it would still look good and I wouldn't have to worry about the problems of earlier firmware.

Could someone please confirm that this would work before I tear apart my dash? MY stock radio doesn't work right now anyway so I'm not real worried about breaking it. I'm just trying to save $200 on another kit.

Any pictures or instructions would be great too.

rollerbldes

no.

ferg

dont say no. why not, i seen someone make there own install, and it does work, nevermine, you said your stock radio dont work?

kanjas

Stock radio turns on there is just no sound, so I would assume if the LCD panel/hvac work now that the part i would need to salvage would still work once removed?

bureau13

Is there a contact for Metra customer support? I've already accidentally pulled a wire out of one of the harnesses putting everything back together and now all I get is heat. I gotta get an extension!

jds

bureau13

I can confirm that this helps. I programmed mine with the car off and I got very sporadic results. I just redid it with the car on and everything works as expected now.

jds

J_Owens

if now all you get is heat it probably isnt the wire it is probably the hvac circuit board, you may have to get a new one or do the soldering to fix it, i and many others have had that issue, but once you solder it, it works fine, there is a whole thread on it but i forgot it, maybe someone on here can post the thread for you i dont have the thread anymore

bureau13

Yeah, that's possible...but my display is also out, and it all happened at the same time that the wire came out. I'm pretty sure when I none of the Metra stuff hooked up, but had just removed the stock stereo, I got hot air. So you may be right, but I'm hoping not. If so I can handle the soldering though...Mazda has a history of bad solder joints I'm sorry to say. That was the popular "clock fix" on the old '87 RX-7s.

jds

rollerbldes

It's very labor intensive to isolate the circuits that control LCD/HVAC. It has been done before but you really need an electrical engineer. Honestly just order another access box. =/

Can't you.. put the wire back into the harness? Or maybe it is those solder points.. or... call 800-253-TECH for metra technical support.

bureau13

Hopefully I can...but I don't like the trend right now...pull something out to correct one thing, put it back and something else is wrong. There is just too much strain on those wires right now, the extensions should help relieve some of that. I think I'm going to cut more of the plastic sub-frame as well...I tried to make sure the part the Metra kit screws into on the bottom was intact, but I'm no longer planning on screwing that down anyway...its not needed and with the wires everywhere now I can't do it anyway.

Thanks for that number...

jds

raphy3

Don't remove those screw holes down there. You will not be happy if you do, trust me.
The white clips on the lower right of my metra faceplate popped off and basically won't clip into the slot in the dash where the faceplate is supposed to clip in. The screw holes there saved me since screwing the faceplate into those meant that the clip doesn't need to go into the slot; the faceplate stays put without it.

If you cut your screwholes away you're going to have your plastic faceplate popping out of your dash.

Davey's RX-8

iTrader: (1)

Trust me, I feel your pain. I called tech support the other day to get extension cables (the purple ones on the plug on the left broke off), gave my email to have forwarded to a sales rep, not so much as a reply two days later. FWIW, I'm having pretty much the same problems you are although my display is now up again.

WVBoosted8

iTrader: (5)

I called my metra rep and they tried to act like the extension cables didn't exist. I was then transferred to a technician who also claimed the extensions didn't exist until he cracked and snuck out a lil, they aren't supposed to be out yet..... they proceeded to send me ONE extension..... what happened to good ol fashion customer service.

rollerbldes

Well.. I'm pretty sure these extensions really are under wraps and not suppose to be leaked to the public.

bureau13

Too late! :-)

icedemon690

hey all,

so i am quite an audio junkie and car audio installer and i have an 04 w/ bose n junk. so i used my resources and found i need the metra 95-7510hg. so i called local shops cuz mine cant order it and 9 shops said the 04 doesnt need that, just a met 7309 and dash kit. ive told the first 5 they r crazy but by 9 i got thinking. and i did say i need to keep the hvac controls. anyone else hear about the 04 only not needing the massive dash kit. thats the other thing. they all said its just the 04 and 09 that dont need the box of goodies the rest of the years needed. any help.

-charms

J_Owens

lol they are stupid and full of it, unless they can do it with that using alot of modification or fabrication. you HAVE to use the 95-7510hg or go with the $500 corksport dashkit, if you cant find it through a shop look online, even ebay has them now, ithe smartest thing you could do is though is wait a little bit longer until the newer 95-7510hg ones start coming with the extension cables that would be the best thing to do, call online dealers when you are ready to order and ask them if they can open the box and see if the ones they have, have the extensions already, if not then wait, the extensions come in big handy, you will understand when you get your kit, or you can go ahead and get the kit and call metra for extensions but as you can see from posts above that, that is a tough thing to do, good luck